The Strokes and a New Lease on Life
A famous entity buried and thought dead in the eyes of loved ones and admirers. A time rife with violence, questions, and existential problems. But then out of nowhere, a set of unexpected events leads to evidence of life--not life as it was before, no, but a new life, a higher existence with the ability to soar past heights previously inconceivable. A resurrection. Yes, friends, I am talking about the Strokes. (Full disclosure: I have zero illusions about being the first or only writer to make the connection between their new album's release date and its coincidence with Easter in this specific context, but when some gimmicky bullshit is so obviously useful sometimes you just have to go with it.)
At some point around First Impressions of Earth, I gave up on the Strokes. This a fact that I am not necessarily proud of in light of my stated goal of giving everything a fair shake in the realm of new music, but it's one that proved necessary at that point in my life for reasons of reducing "noise" in order to give attention to things I deemed to be more relevant. This is a longer than necessary way of saying that I had written them off. But with all that said, I am beyond delighted to see that The New Abnormal proves that this is a band with a lot left in the tank.
The New York rock icons recruited Rick Rubin to produce this new effort. That in itself shows that the five-piece has entered a new, albeit expected, phase of their career: the phase where a superstar producer can get in on the fun in a way that doesn't feel forced or inorganic. But there are artists that work with Rubin because "that's what megafamous acts do," and there are those that work with him to attempt something truly new, if only to them, and to take advantage of his undeniable Midas touch. The Strokes seem to be one of the latter, and they’ve used his platinum ear to uncover whole new modes and methods. TNA is an album that both trims some of the fat from their aesthetic and also marinates in its emotional viscera--the songs here average just over five minutes--ironically winking at its own seriousness at certain points along the way (“Learned all your tricks / it wasn’t that hard”).
Importantly, the reference points have expanded here. The revivalist rock posse raised eyebrows with a trademark mix of tension/release dynamics and a stable of heroes who were essentially the gods of seventies East Coast rock: Lou Reed and VU, New York Dolls, Television, et al. Abnormal expands to include hints of the 80s and beyond with nods to New Order, Billy Idol, Peter Gabriel, Queen, and a line-in-the-sand devotion to Synth Pop as Art Form.
And can we talk about Julian Casablancas? The frontman has always had a level of Sinatra-worship in certain aspects of his vocal delivery, and here he lets it all shine through. In other instances he lets loose with imperfectly perfect results. Album centerpiece "At The Door"'s doomed poetry practically drips with a liquidy croon; "Eternal Summer" sees Julian working in a saccharine falsetto for a majority of its runtime only to shatter it with an arena-punk snarl in the chorus; "Not The Same Anymore" is basically Old Blue Eyes fronting a Vegas lounge act in all the best ways. Overall there is a world-weary reediness in Casablancas' voice now that seems fitting, his jaded tone is undercut by an aspirational strain to get just outside his true range and there's something foundationally hopeful in it that can't be overlooked.
The New Abnormal is an album that its creators have grown into over time. Did that road need to include some artistic failures? To be honest, we could debate the answer to that for years. What I know is this: an album this assured is only achievable in a perfect storm of influences, ability, history, and collaboration. Failures or not, any artist can only get to that point after taking risks. Whether the risks "pay off" is immaterial in the long run. That kind of bumpy road allows for a maturity, a comfort, a confidence in the vision. At the end of the day, maybe part of the idea behind "the new abnormal" is that we fans need to trust a bit more in the occasional mid-career hiccup. It could be that after all these years, this is it.
